


Cat's Out Of The Bag

by writesometimes



Category: Black Sails
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Pure silly fluff, snarky pirate boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2016-09-29
Packaged: 2018-08-18 11:36:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8160808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writesometimes/pseuds/writesometimes
Summary: There stood Silver, with Betsy standing atop the table on her hind legs, feeding the cat scraps of food. Flint suppressed a heavy sigh. Silver was smiling fondly, enjoying entertaining the crew with his new trick. He caught sight of Flint, an exasperated look on the Captain's face.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Five times Flint is irritated with Betsy's presence and one time he's anything but

1\. Flint awoke to hair in his face. He brushed it aside, assuming it was Silver's curls. But Silver didn't meow when Flint fussed with his hair. Flint peered through one eye groggily. Betsy sat curled up on Silver's lap while he sat in bed, reading peacefully.

Flint groaned. "Why is there a _cat_ in our bed?" he demanded through a yawn.

"Betsy's part of the crew," Silver answered without looking up from his book, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"That still doesn't explain what it's doing in the bed," Flint sighed.

Silver shut his book and began petting the feline in question. "It started raining last night. She needed a nice place to sleep."

Flint squeezed his eyes shut. "No animals in the bed," he groused.

"I guess I'll have to start sleeping in the crew's quarters again then," Silver countered playfully.

Flint tossed a pillow at him.

"She'll grow on you," Silver cooed as he scratched Betsy's ears.

****

2\. Some weeks later Flint found out just how much Betsy _was_ part of the crew. It was a mild day, they'd just re-supplied and were heading back to the Maroon island. Every man had his job, but no one was in any particular hurry. Flint was eager to get back though, so when he saw three men huddled together near the stairs on deck he became irritated. No one had been told to stand idly by like idiots.

"What the fuck is going on here?" he demanded loudly as he approached the men.

"Something's wrong with Betsy. She's tired, won't eat. It's a bad sign. We can't sail if she's not well," one of the men offered cautiously.

Flint wanted to scream. "We can't sail because a _cat_ is _tired_?" he asked in disbelief.

Before he could lay into the men properly, Silver appeared at Flint's side. "What seems to be the matter here, gentlemen?" he asked calmly.

"Betsy's not right. It's an omen. We shouldn't sail," the crewman explained again.

Silver could see the frustration building on the Captain's face. He needed to diffuse the situation. He _was_ the Quartermaster after all. "Well, I say we have Howell take a look at her and you three get back to work. No sense in wasting daylight while she's checked over."

The men agreed hesitantly and Silver scooped the cat up and was on his way to Howell quickly. The crewmen went back to their tasks and Flint went after Silver. He found him just inside the crew's quarters with Howell, both men fussing over the cat. When Silver seemed satisfied, he left Betsy with the doctor and approached Flint.

"I told you she was part of the crew," Silver said with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.

Flint rolled his eyes. "I didn't hear anyone saying it was an omen we shouldn't sail when you were injured, you shit."

"I'm not Betsy," Silver laughed. "Don't worry, Captain, you'll warm to her."

Flint sighed deeply and made his way back on deck.

****

3\. The entire _Walrus_ crew had been overjoyed when Howell had announced Betsy merely had a large splinter in one of her "tiny, delicate" paws. He'd removed it and she'd be back to normal quickly. Silver had, of course, volunteered to keep watch over her as she recovered, and to let her sleep in his and Flint's cabin. Flint had demanded she sleep on the window seat.

That's where he found her, sprawled out in the warm afternoon sunshine. Flint had never had a pet, never really understood the fascination with animals . They had their jobs and that was it. But somehow, this tiny creature had won over an entire crew of pirates. Flint was curious. Quietly, he approached the napping feline. Despite his best efforts at silence she still awoke.

Large, green eyes blinked up at him rapidly. A soft meow escaped from her tiny mouth. Flint crept closer and knelt down, now eye-level with her. She stretched a paw out towards him.

"Hello," he whispered as he stroked her head with one finger. "I don't see what all the fuss over you is about."

Betsy rubbed her head against Flint's hand and started purring loudly. Carefully, Flint reached out and touched the paw she's stretched out toward him. Her paws were indeed "tiny and delicate". He was surprised how soft the little pads on the underside of her paw were. Suddenly, Betsy's ears pricked up and she looked past Flint, to the door. Before he could stand, Silver came striding through the door.

"Don't you knock?" Flint asked gruffly to hide his embarrassment.

"Not since we started sharing this cabin. Were you... were you playing with Betsy?" Silver asked slyly.

"Of course not," Flint scoffed as he sauntered away from the window seat, "I was... inspecting her. Trying to figure out why the crew is so taken with her."

Silver chuckled loudly. "You can just admit it. You think she's darling and were cooing over her," he teased.

Flint glared at him and plopped down in the seat at his desk. He had important papers to look over. No time to argue over a silly cat.

****

4) It had been a long day aboard the  _Walrus_. Strong winds had made for a laborious day of sailing. Flint was looking forward to a peaceful dinner. When he entered the galley, however, he found the crew in a boisterous group around a single table. The men were all laughing and passing scraps of food to the center of the crowd. Flint made his way over slowly and pushed his way to through the group of men. He couldn't believe his eyes.

There stood Silver, with Betsy standing atop the table on her hind legs, feeding the cat scraps of food. Flint suppressed a heavy sigh. Silver was smiling fondly, enjoying entertaining the crew with his new trick. He caught sight of Flint, an exasperated look on the Captain's face.

"Captain, have some scraps for Betsy?" he called playfully.

The crew went silent at once, all turning to stare at Flint.

"Do we really have enough food for you to be wasting it like this?" he asked sternly.

All at once, the crew began to disperse. Silver moved Betsy to an empty seat beside him and motioned for Flint to take the seat opposite him at the table. Flint begrudgingly sat.

"You know they're happier, more at ease, when you allow them to enjoy _something_ ," Silver whispered across the table.

Flint dug into his dinner. "They'll be furious and mutinous if we run out of food."

Silver huffed a short laugh and rubbed at Betsy's ear. "If you'd just accept her like the rest of the crew, they might actually start to respect you."

Flint groaned and continued to devour his meal.

****

5) Billy had been running errands about the Maroon island all day. He had just dropped a bundle of canvas off at the _Walrus_ and was on his way back to the settlement when he spied Betsy trotting through the sand.

"What are you doing out here, Miss?" he cooed as he scooped her up in his arms.

Betsy meowed loudly and bumped her head against Billy's chin.

"I'm glad to see you too," he laughed. "You want to go to the settlement, girl?"

Betsy purred loudly. Billy took that as a "yes" and was on his way.

Flint was sitting in the middle of the Maroon settlement around a large fire. Many of the islanders and pirates had gathered together to discuss strategies and to imbibe a little rum. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Billy walking by, Betsy cradled in his arms. He excused himself politely and hurried over to Billy.

"What's she doing off the ship?" Flint asked sternly.

Billy scratched Betsy between the ears. "I found her on the beach. She must've missed the crew and wandered ashore somehow looking for us."

Betsy blinked her large eyes at Flint. He felt oddly protective over the tiny creature suddenly. "Give her to me. I'll take her to my hut. Silver can watch her. He'd be devastated is she ran off."

Billy stared at his Captain like he'd sprouted a second head, but handed the cat over. Flint ignored the confused stares he received all the way back to his hut. Once inside the quarters he shared with Silver, he gingerly deposited Betsy onto the bed.

"You can't run off, cat, it would crush my Quartermaster," he explained as he stared down at Betsy.

She cocked her head to one side and yawned in response. Flint couldn't help it, a smile crept across his face.

"You're not so bad," he whispered as he rubbed under her chin just like he'd seen some of the crew do before. She purred loudly in return.

Quiet laughter from the doorway startled Flint.

"I knew she'd grow on you," Silver called smugly.

"Shut the hell up," Flint groused as he continued petting Betsy.

****

+1) Silver and Flint had been apart for much of the day. They'd made port and had various supplies to hunt down and people to meet with. So when Silver finally made it back to the _Walrus_ at the end of the day, he was eager to see his Captain. As he approached the doors to the cabin they had come to share, Silver could hear Flint murmuring inside. He quietly opened one of the doors and peered inside. He didn't want to interrupt if Flint was in some sort of meeting, but he really was keen to see the man.

Silver could see Flint, crouched down near the window seat, speaking softly. Silver's brow furrowed and he slipped inside the cabin. Flint clucked his tongue quietly and laughed. Silver was totally confused now. He cleared his throat loudly, causing Flint to scramble to his feet. Silver couldn't stop laughing when he caught sight of the window seat.

There sat Betsy, on a fancy pillow, eating a snack from a small dish. 

"So, this is how you spent your day? While I was out hunting down supplies and haggling with merchants you played with the cat?" Silver scolded, shaking his head.

"No, smart ass, I spent most of my day ashore meeting with various people trying to find supporters for our war,' Flint countered stubbornly.

Silver walked closer the window seat, inspecting the scene before him. "Is that... is that a new pillow?" he asked as laughter bubbled up from his throat.

"I had a little time to peruse the market myself, look over merchants' wares," Flint replied nonchalantly.

"So you bought a special pillow for Betsy?" Silver was having trouble not doubling over in a fit of laughter at that point.

"It's more of a cushion, really," Flint said under his breath.

Silver then did indeed double over in a fit of laughter. "I told you she'd grow on you, but I didn't think it'd go this far!"

"This is your fault, you little shit. You liked her so much and she made you so happy. Of course I came to grow fond of her."

Flint's face began to go red. Silver knew this couldn't be easy for his Captain. Emotions had never been his specialty. Silver quickly wrapped Flint up in his arms.

"I'm so glad the two of you are getting along," he said gleefully before pecking Flint on the lips.

Flint squinted his eyes at his Quartermaster, scanning his delighted face. "Why were you always so taken with her?" he asked curiously.

Silver released his Captain and sat down next to Betsy on the window seat. He scratched beneath her chin lovingly.

"She was Randall's. Sometimes I think she was the only thing he actually gave a shit about. But he cared about her. A lot. Seemed wrong to just ignore her. And she seemed so lonely after... and I missed him too so," Silver fell silent then.

Flint could see the sadness in Silver's eyes as he watched Betsy. He sat down beside Silver and rubbed calming circles between his shoulder blades.

"She's definitely special. And fond of you," Flint said just above a whisper.

As if she knew she was being discussed, Betsy looked up from her snack and meowed at the pair. Both men laughed softly. Silver leaned into Flint's side and rested his head against his Captain's shoulder.

"She can sleep in here now I guess," Flint whispered happily in Silver's ear.

Silver laughed in disbelief. "You bought her her own 'cushion'. I assumed _I_ would need to find a new place to sleep!"

Flint smiled so wide his face hurt. "If the two of you wake me up early, you will," he warned playfully.

"Of course, Captain," Silver agreed cheekily.

**Author's Note:**

> Purely self-indulgent fluff because I really miss Betsy and wonder what she's up to.  
> Also because domestic cat-owning pirate boyfriends was something I desperately needed in my life.
> 
> I'm on [tumblr](http://imwritesometimes.tumblr.com/)


End file.
